


Of your kiss, and your warm embrace

by saynomore



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cultural Exploration, Desi Character, M/M, New York Verse, Queens, dinner date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:50:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2956418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saynomore/pseuds/saynomore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zayn takes Liam to Queens, saves his life, and feeds him dinner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of your kiss, and your warm embrace

“So you said you’re doing Comp Sci?” Liam asks, just as the cab swings past them and makes him stumble backwards. Before Zayn even realizes what he’s doing, he’s pulled Liam close to his chest to keep the momentum from pulling him down to the dirty Queens street. 

“You okay? He breathes. Even though there are more than a few layers separating them, Zayn swears he can feel Liam’s heart race under his jacket. His arms prickle with the proximity, but neither of them make a move away from each other.

“Sorry, I thought that cab was going to-” Liam rushes, breathing hard and grasping his curls in his hands in anguish. Zayn thinks that he’s adorable. 

“I didn’t even thank you.” Liam turns his wide eyes to gaze fixedly at Zayn, gulping in the dirty air. It’s such a beautiful contrast to see Liam walking between the walls of worn brick and graffitied, boarded up shops. His black peacoat, close cut jeans, boots, and messy curls stand out from the dead roads and urban decay like a work of art. That’s why after they left the MoMa PS1, Zayn stepped back and took pictures of Liam walking down the sidewalk ahead of him. Once he realized what Zayn was doing, Liam turned around and cheekily looked behind him. 

“Reckon I saved your life,” Zayn says, as a smile bubbles over Liam’s face and his cheeks turn devastatingly pinker in the harsh wind. 

“Reckon you’re my hero.” He replies, content with the way Zayn shoves against him lightly. They’re closer to each other than they’ve been all evening, and Zayn can see the separation of Liam’s eyelashes, the sparse freckles along the bridge of his nose. 

Zayn’s been saving it, but the feeling’s coursing through his head stronger than ever. Stronger than when Liam rested his head on Zayn’s shoulder in the exhibit about free speech, and he could smell the sticky chlorine from the pool and Liam’s shampoo from his shower that morning. He feels it more than all the nights crammed in a dorm room with Lou and Niall and Harry and Liam, steadily chasing away the throb on his lips to pull him in. Stronger than when he had to spend all night in Liam’s bed because Niall politely kicked him out, getting drunk off of the rank beer Liam had swiped from the last Swim party. 

Liam tilts his chin up in slight invitation, and Zayn can’t believe that he’s waited this long. It takes Liam no time to close the gap between them and Zayn breathes in, he gasps against his sweet lips, because it’s like a shock to his system. He’d been imagining it for such a long time that it seemed like a dream, like a false fabrication that he’d ever get to hold Liam like this. Liam’s lips quirk up under his own, and they feel softer than he could’ve ever imagined. 

They separate after a car honks from a few feet away, and Zayn realizes that they never moved out of the street. Liam’s laugh is giddy and uncontrollable, and it reminds Zayn of the giggles that greeted him on visits to Louis’ house when his sisters were younger.

They pull each other out of harm’s way eventually, but don’t separate when they make it to the street corner. 

“C’mon, I know a place we can go.”

\--

Liam eyes the wide blue menu with wide eyes, biting his lip furiously as he tries to understand the words. The restaurant is vibrant around them, bright with people and loud with Sufi music. It feels like the closest to home that Zayn’s been in months, and it throws him to see Liam standing in the middle. It feels oddly permanent, like the universe is trying to tell Zayn something with the way the lights play in Liam’s brown eyes. 

“You sure you want to eat here?” It’s easy to laugh at the way Liam nods promptly, his big shoulders squared decisively, and Zayn’s pulse settles to ground level. He needs to be present, needs to stop thinking so monumentally.

“It smells wonderful. I’ve only ever really eaten Indian food. Is it similar?” 

Zayn loves the way Liam takes everything around them in with wide eyes but open arms. He loves that Liam doesn’t bat an eye at the different atmosphere of the restaurant, or the many Hijabi women sitting in the booths surrounding the storefront. He loves that Liam mouths out the words as he glances down the menu, and spends too much time staring at the sweets in the glass display. Zayn had never felt completely comfortable exposing this part of his life to his past boyfriends and girlfriends. It wasn’t that he knew they’d be disrespectful or misunderstanding. It just never felt like a part of his life anyone would be able to understand, would be able to enjoy, until Liam tripped over his words when he finally asked Zayn to the movies. Then again, Liam wasn’t like Zayn’s exes in any way.

They end up getting a mix of Indian and Pakistani food, sharing a kebab, tandoori rice, rotis, chana, ringan nu shaak, and two samosas. Liam puts all of the chutneys on his plate and immediately coughs after his first overenthusiastic bite, gulping down half of their water jug. 

“You could’ve warned me,” he wheezes, but his smile is shy and sweet. Zayn becomes more and more surprised throughout the meal as Liam polishes off the chana, ringnan nu shaak, most of the kebab, and a samosa. He hardly says a word to Zayn, but they smile at each other between bites. 

“So what do you think?” Zayn didn’t realize he was nervous, but the napkin balled into his hand is damp with sweat. 

“That was...Zayn, that was insane. Incredible, like, I can’t believe you’ve never dragged me out here before. I thought we were friends.” Liam pouts at him and Zayn has to laugh, shaking the table below them. 

“I’m really glad you liked it. I, uh, come here, like, when I’m homesick. It reminds me of my mum and my sisters mostly. Sometimes I’ll go into the music shops or the jewelry stores and pick something out for them. Makes me feel, I dunno, like I can carry around a piece of them with me for a few hours.” 

Liam considers him for a moment, and it sets something between them off balance. “What?” Zayn questions, not liking the way Liam’s gaze has turned so appraising. 

“Thank you, for sharing this with me. I don’t know what I did to deserve any of it, but I’ve had an absolutely amazing day.” Liam’s smile is bashful but he’s locked his gaze on Zayn, and he doesn’t have it in him to respond. “Can I help you? I’ve got two older sisters, and I- I would love to. I’d love to do this with you. If you’d let me?” He breathes, eyes bright under the fluorescent lights. Zayn thinks that he was wrong, when he saw Liam walking down the streets before. Liam doesn’t stand out from these dirty streets, from the loud and nostalgic din of people yelling down the streets in Hindi and Urdu and Tamil. He doesn’t stand out, because he fits right in. 

He doesn’t stand out, because he’s with Zayn.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This is written completely on a whim, and I'm very extraordinarily sorry for any and all poor writing. The verse is based off of my own travels to New York, and will continue with more adventures around the island and the extended neighborhoods. Thank you for reading, and as always, I would love your feedback :)
> 
>  
> 
> Much love,  
> June


End file.
